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IMPROVEMENT IN PACKING AND PRESERVING BUTTER.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAYCONQERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. GUEhNsEY, of Norwich, in the county of-Chenango, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Mode'of Preserving Butter-mid Lardyand I do hereby declare that the. following is a full, clear, and exact description tiereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same.

The-nature of this invention consists in preparing wooden packages for preserving fatty and oily substances, such as butter, lard, tallow, 820., by'an application to their surfaces of parhfline- Fresh butter and lard, if packed in wooden boxes, firkins, or tubs, which have been saturated with parafiine, will keep sound and sweet for a long period.

Paraliinc is a tasteless, inodorous, and innocuous substance, which has butlittle affinity for other substances, as-its n'ame implies, and therefore imparts neither flavor, smell, nor extraneous quality'of any kind to the most delicate butter, when placed in contact with it. It also resists the'action of acids and alkalies, and is unaffected by the salt in butter, or the pyroligneous acid contained in wooden vessels, and the saturation with parafline renders the wood impervious to air and water. For these reasons, when butter is carefully packed in wooden vessels saturated with parafline, it will be completely protected against the deleterious effect of the air or the acid in wood, which soon destroys its original purity and renders it rancid. Noxious odors, which haven strong ai'linity for butter and other fatty substances, and injure the flavor of butter very rapidly, are also entirely excluded by a paraiiine envelope. The peculiar bloom which distinguishes fresh, well-made butter is likewise preserved, so that it does not become discolored and sodden in appearance, like butter wrapped in cloths and immersed in brine. Butter, therefore; whempnekedlinswoodcn vessels, thus prepared by saturation with paraffine, will retain its original purity and delicacy of flavor for an indefinite length of tiine,'and keep sound and sweet, even when shipped to hot climate s. v

p I am aware that boxes and vessels have been madcair-tight by an internal lining or enamel of parafline, but thisis'n ot what I claim as of lay-invention. My invention consists in so treating the boxes that the parafiine is caused to saturate 'or entirely to permeate the wood, so that fatty or oily matters cannot come in contact with the fibres of the wood, as they are likely to if a mere coating or enamel of parafiine is applied to the surface of the wood. I accomplish this saturation by applying the parafline at a very high temperature, continuing the exposure of the wooden fabric ofthe box to the action of the said parafiine for a suflicient length of time to cause it to permeate the pores of the wood thoroughly. The above action is facilitated by rendering the thickness of the wood 'as much as is compatible with the requisite strength, probably not exceeding the twelfth. of an inch in thickness, in which proportion they may be considered as veneers. The veneers, being thoroughly seasoned, and warmed ,to a temperature of say 300 Fahn, are treated by. a brush with parafline at a heat of boiling water; orthe heated parafiine may be applied to the heated wood in any other sufficient manner which may readily occur to one familiar with this c ass of subjects. 'A special advantage is derived from the saturation of the wood with paraiiinc, as it thereby becomes non-absorbent, and preserves its shape when exposed to hygroinetric changes.

Having :described my invention, I wislritto be understood that I do not claim coating wooden surfaces with an enamel of parafiine, but what I claim is-' 1. A wooden box or containing vesseLsntdrated with parafline, substantially as described.

2. I further claim the use of paruffine to protect the glued or cemented-joints of wooden boxes or packages from the effects of moisture from the atmosphere, or-from contained substances.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 14th day of September, 1866.

y W. B. GUERNSEY.

Witnesses:

WM. F; MCNAMARA, ALEX. F; Ronss'rs. 

